It had been two days since the nearly murderous game of hide and seek that Abby and Kane had been caught in the middle of. Since then, they had been explicitly clear with Clarke that they were to be forewarned and allowed to leave the building if a rematch was to occur.
Lexa had been utterly unapologetic about the entire situation, pacing the floor and growling about the defeat she had suffered, and the betrayal of her wife protecting the others rather than allying with her.
It was noon on the second day that the message came, that there was a new arrival to Polis from Azgeda.
Curious, the girls all followed Lexa to the throne room, distracted from their hunt for a decent midday meal, lining the walls as Lexa took her place, before motioning to the guards to allow whoever it was to enter.
Raven and Octavia stiffened as they caught sight of the woman walking forwards to kneel in front of Lexa.
Catching their reaction, Lexa glanced at the two of them curiously, before focusing back on the warrior knelt in front of her, "Rise." She spoke softly, but sharply, watching intently as the woman dressed in Azgeda colours but with no scars stood.
Swallowing, the Azgeda warrior focused on the Commander, conscious of the glares directed at her back, "Heda, ai Haihefa has sent me to answer for what I did under his mother's rule."
Looking between the woman in front of her and her two friends, Lexa hummed thoughtfully before making an educated guess, "Echo."
There was a tight nod of acknowledgement, but otherwise no response.
"And why has Roan decided to do this now?" Lexa asked patiently, "It's been many months since I ended Nia's rule."
"I wasn't in Azgeda until recently, Nia had sent me South, she was looking for leverage against Louwoda Kliron Kru." Echo answered evenly, "I was trained to be a spy and infiltrate enemy clans, being so isolated, I didn't even realise Nia was dead until I returned home."
"And what purpose does Roan see in having you come to me?" Lexa asked curiously.
Gritting her teeth, Echo struggled to steel herself and maintain her composure, "Should you decide my crimes against your Coalition are unforgiveable, Roan has ordered me banished from Azgeda."
"Good." Octavia bit out.
Lexa shot her a sharp look, before her attention was drawn by Ontari staring at her intently.
Standing suddenly, she marched past Echo, gesturing for Octavia, Raven and Ontari to follow her out into the corridor.
Those left in the room, stood in an awkward silence, Echo not moving a muscle as she kept her gaze fixed ahead towards Lexa's throne.
"Is there even a choice here?" Raven asked immediately as soon as they were outside, "If it wasn't for her, a lot of good people would still be alive."
Octavia nodded quickly, "Banishment is letting her off easy."
Ontari frowned between the two of them, "You're both letting your personal feelings cloud your judgement."
The two of them turned to stare at her, "Are you serious?" Octavia gaped, "She lied to us, and helped her people blow up Mount Weather, with innocents inside it."
"My people." Ontari reminded her gently, "Don't forget everything I've told you about my life under Nia, her spies were her personal pets. All of them hand picked as children and raised to be ruthless, and as soon as they were judged to be expendable, she had them removed. Only one ever lived beyond twenty-five, the things that Echo was put through are worse than you can imagine."
Lexa tilted her head curiously, "You're recommending I absolve her of past deeds."
Ontari frowned for a moment, "Honestly I don't know what I'm recommending, I just want to make sure we all understand what's going to happen to her if she's banished."
"She'll still be alive, and free to do basically anything she wants." Raven waved her hands irritably, "There's very little downside for her."
"I grew up in close proximity to what Nia was doing with the children she cultivated, loyal doesn't even begin to cover their allegiance to the clan. If Echo is banished from Azgeda, I very much doubt she'll last the week." Ontari told them seriously.
"What are you talking about?" Lexa asked.
"My guess is, she'll either pick a fight she knows she can't win, or failing that, she'll just do it herself, rather than face the shame of exile." Ontari explained sadly, "There was a point, long ago when I would have done the same, I managed to shake off the worst of Nia's teachings, not everyone was so lucky."
The drive to push Lexa to cast a decisive judgement deflated, Octavia growled under her breath, before leaning tiredly against the wall, "How is Nia still screwing with us, months after she died?"
Still slightly taken aback at Ontari's words, Raven looked between them helplessly, "So what, we just tell her to go home, no consequences just skip off back to Azgeda?"
Lexa shook her head, "No, I don't think so, if she was so loyal to Nia then I want her close for now."
"Doing what?" Octavia asked eventually, as they all stood in a contemplative silence.
Looking at Ontari, Lexa shook her head once, "I find myself unable to blame those held under Nia's sway for their actions, we have all to some degree, felt the weight and pain of her actions. Ontari, how much do you really know about her?"
Chewing on the edge of her lip thoughtfully, Ontari answered, choosing her words deliberately, "I know that to last as long as she did with Nia, she's incredibly resilient, and intelligent too. I know that she would lay down her life for Azgeda in a heartbeat, she's a strong warrior in her own right, able to easily hold her own against most foes."
"Anything else?" Lexa pushed insistently.
"She's a survivor, and unquestioningly loyal to her clan, but due to her training, she makes more independent decisions that most warriors would. If she believed that an order given would harm Azgeda, I doubt she would have much trouble ignoring it."
Lexa looked between Raven and Octavia, "What about the two of you, what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that I'm really glad decisions like these aren't down to me." Raven sighed, "I have no idea what the right thing to do is."
"I do." Octavia nodded to Lexa, "And so do you."
Smiling softly, Lexa inclined her head, "Ok then, but if either of you decide you can't get past what she did, then we can re-evaluate ok?"
Lexa waited long enough for them both to agree, before striding back into the room, retaking her place as though she had never left.
Looking down at Echo, she saw just how much the other woman was desperately holding together a rapidly crumbling façade of calmness and composure.
"Echo kom Azgeda, I have spoken with those your actions hurt, and whilst they were indeed terrible, Nia's influence over you has been taken into account. With that being said, I am unable to trust you, and so whilst you are not an outcast from your clan, I require you to remain here and serve me until such time as you prove yourself a loyal member of my Coalition, not just of your own clan."
The look of surprised relief was impossible to miss as Echo took an involuntary half step forward.
"Ai badan yu klin, Heda. I swear to you that I will not make you regret this." Echo promised earnestly.
"Good." Lexa smiled, before giving her once last appraising look, "Report to the guard at the base of the tower, tell him that you're to be assigned to my personal guard. He'll explain everything you need to know."
Bowing at the waist, Echo smiled gratefully, "Mochof Heda." Before spinning on her heel and leaving quickly, as though she was afraid Lexa would go back on her decision if she lingered too long.
"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Clarke asked curiously as she left the shadows she had been lurking in and crossed over the room to stand at Lexa's side.
"Not yet." Lexa answered her easily, "But I believe she may be worthy of a second chance."